HEAVY HITTERS

Goldy Nagdev has a seriously impressive fleet of enthusiast-cars at his disposal, and the Thar is the latest one to join the lot. Where does it fit in to his garage?

- Goldy Nagdev

GOLDY IS A CAR GUY. IF THAT ISN’T APPARENT from his Instagram page dedicated to the cars he drives, the metal parked in his basement leaves no room for doubt. There’s a Mercedes-AMG C 63 S, a BMW M2 Competition, a Mitsubishi Evo X, a Jaguar XK-R, an Audi R8 V10 Plus, a Porsche Macan Turbo, an Isuzu D-Max, E-Class All Terrain, and even a track-spec Honda City. And now joining this incredible lineup of cars, is the all-new Mahindra Thar.

Goldy’s decision to buy a Thar was not impulsive. This was a match that was years in the making, stretching all the way back to the ’90s, when Mahindra showcased the Classic and the Armada at Auto Expo. Back then, those SUVs spoke to him like few others did. “The Classic had this raw appeal. I was about 18 or 19 years old then and it symbolised freedom and the wind-in-the-hair kind of feeling. Along with the Classic was the Mahindra Armada. Those days we didn’t have these proper seven-seater SUVs or MUVs, so that was a new concept. I never thought that a Mahindra car could look so refined, civilised and up with the style. I remember the car was white and it had silver grey niches and red decals.” The seed was sown way back then but it could be realised only last year, when Goldy picked up this Thar.